Neversoft Interview

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We get down to brass tacks with the President of Neversoft, the creators of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series.

By Douglass C. Perry

Looking back on the debut of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in 1999, it's still amazing that Neversoft was able get the PlayStation to handle its impressive 3D engine. The reason to look back that far helps to explain how much has happened in the venerable skateboarding series. We've gone from straight bowl riding and grinds, manuals and reverts, to spine transfers and off-the-board tricks. And now, with Tony Hawk's Underground 2, the series has pushed even further into the sport and the culture itself.

We sat down with the good folks at Neversoft to discuss how the series has evolved, and what the game promises to deliver in its form. Neversoft President Joel Jewett spoke to us, answering questions about the team's "scientific" game processes, the state of the series, Neversoft's reasoning for skipping Xbox Live, and why he just kill us...

IGN: Many developers with a hit as good and as popular as the Tony Hawk series could easily add too much to ruin it. How do you keep from ruining Tony Hawk each year? What principles guide you in your design and production processes that keep you on track?

Joel Jewett: Every year we put as much into the game as we can, ship it, then we get worried about what to do for the next year. We brainstorm and try to come up with a new spin, then narrow that down to what sounds like the most fun theme to work toward. We then hit the ground running and start working on all the features we thought of during the last year that we did not have time to implement. Pretty damn scientific don't you think?

IGN: So what did you learn from Tony Hawk's Underground, especially about telling a story?

Joel: Stories are a lot of work, but ultimately they are a lot of fun to tell and they really let you do more with whatever content you are working with. I think it has really set us up to work well with the skate culture from many different angles going forward.

IGN: What's up with Bam Margera? Is he now as popular as Tony Hawk? What kinds of insights does he bring to the game? What kinds of comments did he and Tony make to improve it?

Joel: Bam personifies a segment of the skate culture that crosses over into the overall youth culture. He is all about getting crazy and having fun. Since we told a more serious story last year, we thought THUG2 needed to be more fun and to get a little bit crazy too. Both Bam and Tony came into the Neversoft offices to help us out with bringing their game characters to life.

"DUDE! I can see Fat Burger from here!"

IGN: Hm..OK..How has the destruction aspect added to the story and overall experience of playing Tony Hawk? Does it drastically change level design, and how? Please give us a few examples, and please, don't use Boston!

Joel: Here's the simple answer, the destruction adds more interactivity and it just gives the player more fun things to do in the videogame.

IGN: OK, so this game takes place all over the world. We've got Spain and the US, among other countries in THUG 2. Did your team visit these areas and find excellent spots to skate? Which ones were most interesting, bizarre, or surprising? And why?

Joel: We always send our teams to the locations to gather reference materials and to get a better feel for the culture of the area. Our designers are always looking for cool spots to skate. The theme of THUG 2 is the World Destruction Tour and I can guarantee you there will be some bizarre action going on in all the levels, but you have to play the game to check it out.

IGN: Xbox Live is very popular. It's constantly growing and upgrading, and in terms of online services, it's top quality. You've had the Tony Hawk series on PlayStation 2 for three games now (since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3), since 2001. Why isn't Tony Hawk's Underground 2 on Xbox Live? From the outside, it looks as if Neversoft and Activision are punishing Xbox users, or at the very least, refusing to give Xbox owners their due respect. Why isn't THUG 2 on Xbox Live?

Joel: We led the way with online console gaming on the PS2 and that feature set has grown every year. It is not something we cannot continue to support. It is a question of how and where we apply resources, and at this point we have to support that which we have already invested so much time into previously. With that said, we are certainly not trying to punish anyone, and we very much respect Xbox owners. In fact, I play the game on the Xbox at my house all of the time.